Page 45 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an
P. 45

The Key to Faithfulness: Love and Fear of Allah
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             F Fear of Allah

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             Love towards Allah is a very important part of faithfulness, but
         it is not enough in itself. There must also be a sense of fear towards
         Him. Fear of Allah aids believers to be meticulous in obeying His
         commands and prohibitions, to avoid behavior that will not please
         Him, and to exercise "will-power" against the intimations of Satan
         and their lower-selves.
             Human beings were created weak. Allah tells us this in the
         Qur'an:
             Allah desires to make things lighter for you. Man was cre-
             ated weak. (Surat an-Nisa', 28)
             The voice of our lower-selves and that of Satan continually urge
         us towards evil. Great determination or will-power is needed in
         order not to become entangled up in these satanic intimations. So,
         fear of Allah renders a person's sense of determination firm. In the
         Qur'an, Allah commands believers to fear Him:
             You who believe! Fear Allah and let each self look to what it
             has sent forward for Tomorrow. Have fear of Allah. Allah is

             aware of what you do. (Surat al-Hashr, 18)
             Fear of Allah urges an individual to try to live every moment of
         his life in a way that would please Allah, and to be awake to the de-
         sires of Satan and his own inner-self, and to be alert and prepared for
         the tricks and games that they play. This will vitiate the deceit of
         Satan and the inner voice of the lower-self that want to get him to do
         their unbounded will.

             For this reason, Satan and the inner voice of the ego are particu-
         larly interested in removing the fear of Allah from people. They
         want to prevent them from fearing Allah by false intimations, such

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